this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2026
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I know nothing about mobile OS development. How realistic is it at this point for someone to fork Android?
I know that software like Edge and Iron Fox can be forked and worked on by independent people. But Android is developed to integrate tightly with proprietary hardware.
A fork won't do you any good. This has to do with Play Services, not the OS.
No play services in GrapheneOS, and it's working fine.
People have done it. The problem is the huge binary blobs for hardware. Its difficult without the hardware company themselves giving you the specs to make your own.
One of the reasons fairphone is supported on many alternate platforms.
Motorola and GOS have entered the chat
i think oneplus did for one of their older phones at one point but i can't remember
Forking the OS isn't a big issue. The big issue is people installing the fork.
To install custom rooms you have to unlock the bootloader. Which can be easy, to impossible, depending on the phone.
But unlocking the bootloader breaks many of the security features. Stuff like NFC payments no longer work. So basically the phone is crippled.
Finding a custom ROM for your particular device is also a pain. So you can get a cheap phone, a recent one, or one with custom ROMs available.
A simple metaphor for common folks:
Tesla autos come with a specific engine that only works for Tesla autos. Sundar Pichai wants everyone to ONLY use their locked down engines. Without key parts of the engine, libre developers can barely “fork” another engine in a Tesla. Thus it is nearly impossible to fork off Google PlayStore API.
I prefer autos you are completely liberated todo and alter however you wish, but Android phones are too locked to be called liberal phones.